The first trailer for Nightmare Alley has been released, and Guillermo del Toro's new movie looks suitably creepy.
The movie follows manipulative carnival worker Stan Carlisle (played by Bradley Cooper), who joins forces with the dangerous femme fatale Dr. Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett). Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, and Rooney Mara also star.
The trailer sees Cooper's character hooked up to a lie detector, revealing that he is a "true medium" and can read minds "under the right circumstances. We also get a glimpse at Blanchett's character, who has an ominous warning: "If you displease the right people, the world closes in on you very, very fast." Coupled with shots of blood, fire, and guns, it doesn't look like things are going to go smoothly for Stan Carlisle.
Based on the 1946 novel of the same name by William Lindsay Gresham, the story has already been adapted for the screen once before back in 1947. Unlike the 1947 version, del Toro's Nightmare Alley is R rated, but it looks like the movie has kept the '40s setting, playing homage to the golden age of film noir.
This is del Toro's first movie since 2017's The Shape of Water, which was nominated for 13 Academy Awards and won four, including Best Picture and Best Director. He also has a remake of Pinocchio in the works for Netflix, which is currently due to be released sometime this year (although a specific date has yet to be confirmed). The movie's voice cast includes Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton, and Christoph Waltz.
While we wait for Nightmare Alley to arrive in theaters on December 17, check out our list of the other upcoming movies to get excited about in 2021 and beyond.
